A Smile On Your Pretty Face, Boy
by isawrightless
Summary: It's not the surprise itself that makes his world.


**I.**

She wakes up at 4AM, and instead of Leon snoring on his side of the bed, all she finds is an empty space. She frowns, waits a moment for the sleep to leave her body. Her eyes settle on the bathroom, but the door is open and the light is off. She looks at the clock on the bedside table, it's 4:05 AM now. She gets out from under the covers, her small feet hitting the carpeted floor, and she feels the cold when she stands up, knowing that she's to blame for sleeping in only her panties and a tank top. She brushes her bangs out of her face, and makes her way to the baby's room.

She opens the door carefully, and has a brief panic attack when she sees the empty crib. The house is quiet, which only makes her heart beat faster. She tells herself to calm down-there is nothing wrong. No zombies, no kidnapping. She takes a deep breath, but reminds herself that there is an unloaded gun under the mattress and ammo on the top shelf of the closet.

Going down the stairs, one step at a time, she feels relief washing over when she realizes the lights are on in the living room, and that right in the middle of it, Leon is walking around with Rafaela in his arms. He's doing a little dance, perhaps to get her to calm down or got to sleep.

Claire sits on one of the steps and watches from afar since interrupting them would be a shame.

The baby has her head on Leon's shoulder, her chubby, tiny hands on his chest, and he's holding her firmly, dressed only in sweatpants (he always wears them to sleep), while Rafaela is happily clothed in her favorite pink onesie-the one with the angel wings drawn on the back.

He bounces her a little, she smiles, and he talks to her, tells her she's the prettiest lady in the world and she laughs, not understanding a word.

"So tomorrow, well..." he steals a glance at the clock on the wall. "Today, actually, is father's day. I know, how cool is that...I get a day all for myself because I have you," he says, kissing her cheek.

It makes Claire melt all over. Her right hand on her chest, as if to hold her heart. A habit of hers-she doesn't know she does it, but every time something happens that has her worried, happy, or sad, she brings her hand to her heart.

She bites her bottom lip. Holds back the urge to say something.

Leon doesn't seem to know she's there at all, and if he does, he simply doesn't mind.

He would never mind.

He says, "But I won't be here. Not before midnight, I mean. Which is not really fair since most daddies get to spend this day with their children, but your old man here has a really stupid job that, hopefully, when you get older you'll understand that it's not stupid at all...and maybe you won't hate me?" he raises an eyebrow at the question, looking down at his daughter.

She's got a round face and big blue eyes that let you know everything is going to be okay.

She's adorable like that.

"Look, sweetheart, I know it's late and you won't understand a thing I tell you-_ow_-and if you could get my hair out of your mouth, I would appreciate it," he says, chuckling and taking the strand of hair she likes to pull and chew on out of her mouth.

On the stairs Claire brings a hand to her mouth and tries to muffle her giggles.

Leon goes on, "I just want you to know that if I had a choice, I'd drop everything to be here with you tomorrow. Today. Every day. I swear I would. But for every action, there's a reaction and-oh gee, I do sound like a dad," he says, caressing Rafaela's face. "Good for us, huh?," he smiles. "I love you, alright? I love you more than anything, and you're my top priority, no matter what. You and your mother. So this is not me choosing work over you...it's just me doing what I have to do..."

He stops talking then. Walks around with Rafaela, does that little dance again, and stays that way with her until she falls asleep in his arms. By that time, Claire has already walked back to the bedroom, and is lying in bed with a heavy heart and a million thoughts on her head.

**II.**

There is paperwork to be filled.

He sits on his chair, the one that hurts his back, and checks for messages on his phone.

He's not doing anything, to be honest. Just sitting there, staring at the disorganized mess that is his desk now.

"Hey, Kennedy! Happy Father's Day, man!"

Henry Stuart's voice catches his attention, brings him out of his haze. He looks at the man standing before his desk. He's tall and lean, he's got greasy hair and a pimple on his neck that is red and infected, as if someone had spent some time trying to pop it. Leon diverts his eyes from it, and smiles politely.

"Thanks."

"It's gotta suck...Being stuck in here while every one else is enjoying the day."

There is something about Henry that makes Leon want to punch him in the face. Repeatedly.

"Yes, Henry, it does suck. Thank you very much for reminding me."

"Heh, I wish I had a different job. I'd get myself a kid and enjoy a day off or so."

"Because that's why Father's Day exists."

Henry gives Leon a playful punch on the arm. "Right? Anyway man, I gotta go."

Leon closes his eyes, takes a deep breath and counts to ten.

This is going to be a long day.

**III.**

"She's got Dad's nose."

Claire rolls her eyes, grabs the two glasses of soda and heads back to the living room. She finds her baby being lifted by her brother. He's squinting and analyzing her face. He brings her down, balances her on his lap, her feet on his thigh as strong hands help her stand in one place.

She becomes tinier when she's with Chris.

"You think?" Claire asks, placing the glasses down on the coffee table, and smiling at her daughter. The baby smiles right back at her, and laughs a little, as if she wants Claire to understand what's going on. She's standing on her uncle's thigh. That's amazing and everybody should pay attention to her.

"Yeah. It looks a bit more like yours though. I'm just glad she didn't end up with Leon's nose," he says, holding Rafaela properly now that the little one has grown tired of standing and decided slapping her uncle's face is much more fun. Her tiny hand goes on his cheek, he pretends it hurts, and she giggles.

Claire laughs.

"Let Leon hear you saying that..."

"C'mon," he says, pulling away from Rafaela's hand as she tries to grab his nose, and then letting her grab it a moment later. "What fun would it be if I didn't get to tease him?"

"You're impossible."

"And you're a mother."

"Yup."

"Still can't believe it."

"Well, Rafaela's seven months old now, so you gotta start believing it."

"Seven months? Already? Well, look at you," he says to Rafaela. "You're almost a grown up!"

"Isn't she?" Claire asks, leaning in to give Rafaela a kiss. The little one puckers up her lips just like she learned a few days ago, and gives her mother a noisy peck on the cheek.

"Hey, no kiss for your uncle?"

Rafaela gives him a noisy peck too, proud and happy that everybody is looking at her and talking to her.

"Oh, that's not a kiss, ok, that's drooling," he says, making a face and sending Claire off to a laughing fit.

She cleans the drool off his cheek since he's still holding Rafaela, and she winks at the baby. "That's what he gets for mocking your Daddy, huh?"

He chuckles, rolls his eyes. "Believe me, this girl will be just as happy that she didn't get his nose once she grows up," he says, and when he notices the look on Claire's face, he frowns. "You okay?"

She shakes her head. "I'm fine."

"Claire."

"Ah, it's just..." she grabs Rafaela's hand, and smiles. "Look how cute she is! She's adorable, and Leon's stuck at work and it just...sucks. He really wanted to be here today. He'd talked to her nonstop about it-that he'd have his first father's day and they were going to do a bunch of stuff together...And last night I caught him talking to her and_ apologizing_ because he had to go and work and I feel so guilty about hating his job, but I do, I hate it so much Chris and I can't say anything because he never complained about me with TerraSave, but that's different anyway. I don't do what you two do."

She bites the inside of her cheek. She always does that when she's upset, and she feels Chris' hand on her shoulder.

"I was okay with it, I understood. But that was before we had Rafaela, and now I'm always wondering when things will go wrong again, and I start thinking that if something happened to Leon or you, it wouldn't be about me going through a loss and suffering, it would be about Rafaela too. She would go through it too and I can't stand that thought, I can't stand any of it. I can't think about you two dying anymore, and I can't think about her having to go through that, I can't. I'm just...becoming this selfish, crazy person, Chris."

She rests her head on his shoulder, her hands find Rafaela, and she plays with her, smiles and holds back the tears. Chris puts an arm around her, never lets go of the baby, and he kisses the top of Claire's head.

"You're not crazy. You're not selfish either. You're just worried and that's okay. It's not wrong for you to hate what he does or what I do. I hate it too, you know. And I think about the same things you do...I love you, Claire. You and Rafaela. You're my family, and I'm just as worried as you are because you may not be a soldier, you may not be called out on the field, but you _are_ a fighter and I'm always wondering if I'm gonna get a call one day telling me something happened to you. It drives me crazy too, but then I think that we need to do this, we need to fight for a better world so people can live without fear. So Rafaela can get a normal childhood-"

"I know that, and I think so too, but lately I'm just so scared..."

"And it would be weird if you weren't. Claire, you're a good mom, ok? And worrying is part of it. The same goes for the rest. You're a good sister, a good wife..." he smirks. "Especially for putting up with that thing on Leon's face. I mean, Jesus that shit is scary."

"You jerk!" she says, but laughs. Laughs really loud, and he does too, content that he can still make his little sister feel a bit better when she's not okay.

**IV.**

He gets a message from Hunnigan.

_Go home._

He texts her back, asks her what's going on.

She explains:

_Boss sent you home, Leon. There's nothing for you to do here today. Go be with your daughter. Happy Father's Day.  
_

He smiles, texts a quick _thank you_ and then he's out the door.

**V.**

It's not the surprise itself that makes his world.

He digs the key from out of his pocket and opens the front door of the house, drowns in the familiar smell of coffee, baby powder, lilacs (Claire's favorite flower) and Windex, heads straight to the living room, and then to the kitchen. Figuring they're probably in the bedroom, he climbs the stairs quietly, and doesn't shout for attention; Rafaela may be asleep and he would hate if he woke her up. He learned that lesson a few months ago when he just couldn't wait for his baby to wake up, and Claire was out and he just wanted to talk to his daughter. It's not like anyone could blame him. She's pretty amazing, and no, he's not saying that because she's his, although he did tell Claire right after she gave birth that they were artists. How else would they explain the gorgeous tiny human they'd made? Honestly. So he picked her up that day, the day he was alone in the house with only a couple of weeks into fatherhood in his résumé, and he woke her up and dear God, that baby cried until she couldn't anymore. Cried as if she was yelling at him, blaming him for disturbing her. And he apologized, and took her into his arms, and talked and sang and rocked back and forth and sang again and kissed the top of her head and tried telling stories and finally, when he was running out of tales about Claire and how clumsy, but unbelievable strong the woman is, Rafaela fell asleep again.

He doesn't call out for Claire.

Instead, he knocks on the bedroom's door, the softest knocks he has ever managed (he even feels a bit proud. Claire is always complaining that he's going to bring down the door one of these days) and says her name in a low tone before opening the door.

It's not the surprise itself that makes his world.

It's the scene happening right before his eyes.

It's Claire in a summer dress, dancing with Rafaela, making her smile and laugh and kissing the tip of her tiny nose.

It's the way she stops, and looks at him, lets it sink in what's happening and her smile just grows and she points at him, and says "Look, sweetie, Daddy's here."

It's the way Rafaela _does_ look at him, and the way she raises her chubby arms, trying reach out to him. She babbles something, turns to Claire, there's a frown on her face, and Claire asks, "You want Daddy?"

And Rafaela keeps the frown, but says, "Dada," and looks at him again.

Leon remembers he can move, and does so, thinking about a hundred cheesy things or so to say, and noting that the fact they're cheesy doesn't make them any less true. He is home. If this is a dream, he doesn't want to wake up and so on. But he keeps his mouth shut, at least for now, and he takes his baby in his arms and kisses his wife. A kiss on her rosy, smooth lips. Long and cute, and her hair smells of peach scented shampoo, and their baby demands attention, and he's just so happy to be holding her, so happy that life seems to be giving them a break and letting them live.

"Ela, baby, tell Daddy how much we missed him," Claire says.

Leon smiles at her, at the nickname, at their baby. He can't stop smiling. He can't.

Not when he feels like a boy all over again.

A boy who is very much in love.


End file.
